When We're Willing
by dancingcordeaux
Summary: A story of Hawkeye and Margaret throughout the M*A*S*H series and possibly a different perspective on the episodes and the characters reactions/motives. It will be a multichapter. Give it a try and please review!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! This is my attempt at a Hawkeye/Margaret fiction. Its pretty much based off the seasons episodes but considering where this may go it also has the potential to continue after the war. Just depends! Also, I've improvised some of the story, such as how Margaret got nicknamed 'Hotlips' just because it seemed to fit. Other things like that will happen because they have a point to my story in the future, as does the nickname. **

**I love to get reviews and to hear what you think of my writing - constructive criticism is great too because it will help me. So please review. Also I'm happy to hear ideas or anything else. I really hope you like this!**

**~DancingCordeaux~**

The day she arrives she realises this place was different. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake greets her warmly. He seemed to have a more relaxed attitude towards running the camp, but that wasn't too worrying. He wouldn't have been appointed to command the place if he was unsuitable. As long as people here respected rules and regulations it would be fine. So the camp was a little closer to the front line, and the shelling was a little louder, and the danger was a little more real. But she would be okay. Life in the army was what she thrives on and she can pull this off.

It couldn't be too different, she reasons with herself. She's in her own tent now, packing things away in their new homes. This will be her new home too. Looking around it seemed similar to her old posts, same sized cot, same furniture (if you could call it that). And yet she fails to shake the feeling that here, something was different. This was slightly worrying, Margaret Houlihan was used to the same.

Her tent door bursts open and two men walked in, both tall although one had curly brown hair, and the other black hair.

"Good afternoon Major Houlihan. We're Trapper and Hawkeye and just wanted to know if we could help settle you in in any way?" Margaret stands with her mouth open, unable to respond. So the one with black hair piped in.

"I'd be happy to attend to the underwear if you haven't already unpacked that."

"No way, you got to do the underwear for Nurse Kellye. It's my turn."

"But when Ferret Face arrived, I gave you the chance and you turned it down. Therefore, I should be the one to help the dear Major here." He turns and smiles at her and just for a second she considers smiling back, like it's contagious. But she stops herself in time, stands to her full height.

"Get out! Get out! How dare you? Get out!" Margaret screamed. Hawkeye and Trapper turn and flee out of the tent laughing over their shoulders.

Margaret's left fuming in her tent. How dare they be so disrespectful? They hadn't even given their rank, and then they had the nerve to discuss her underwear. Urgh! Margaret placed her head in her hands, totally embarrassed. A sudden thought occurs to her; what if she had to work with them? Even worse, what if they were the surgeons?

Trapper and Hawkeye saunter back into their tent affectionately nicknamed the 'Swamp'. Major Burns, (likewise affectionately nicknamed 'Ferret Face') was lying on his bed reading a letter. He looked up hopefully when Trapper and Hawkeye walked in, but realising it was them he turned back to his letter.

"Don't look so disappointed Frank. There's a war on you know." Frank rolls over, continuing to ignore them.

Trapper smiled. _Too easy_. "It's probably from his wife. Found somebody else has she Frank?"

"Don't worry Frank, ol' Hotlips will probably be interested. She seems as anal as you, doesn't she Trapper?"

"Hotlips?"

Hawkeye shrugs nonchalantly. "Came up with it just then. The way she fired off at us. Seemed appropriate. Felt like she was about to explode."

Trapper has to sit on his bed his laughing so hard. "Oh I like it!" At this point Frank had had enough. Jumping off his bed and storming out of the room muttering under his breathe. "My God though did she go off at us. Kellye just laughed. Want a drink?" He asked as he approached the still they had set up together.

Hawkeye smiled, "Need you even ask?"

Margaret made her way over to the nurse's tent. She had recovered from her earlier… incident… and was now determined to make an impression on her nurses. She enters and sees the nurses lying around their room, relaxing, talking, laughing. But they soon notice her and stop. Margaret, contrary to popular believe hated attention like this. She takes a few deep breaths and straightens her back.

"Hello girls. I'm Major Houlihan and as you probably know I've arrived as your Head Nurse. I would like to be clear now about what I expect, as long as you act professionally and to the best of your ability we shall get along fine. Any questions?"

"Yes, um, what would you like us to call you?"

Margaret raises her eyebrows. "I did mention my name was Major Houlihan didn't I?"

"Yes…"

"Then I don't see the point of your question." Margaret turned and walked out, missing the looks passed between the nurses. Thank goodness that is over. She knows that the girls won't like her, but then she isn't her to make friends. She's here to save lives. Hopefully though, the nurses will respect her. All she has to do is lay down the law, tough. M*A*S*H 4077th is a relatively new camp. Only been around for a few months and only had one Head Nurse before herself. So it still shouldn't be too late to establish strict discipline.

Over the next few weeks things seem to settle slightly. The nurses have realised by now that Major Houlihan is a tough leader and expects an awful lot out of them. They don't really like her but this seems to affect no one as their professional relationship, although slightly strained by the hard work, is surprising working well. Hawkeye and Trapper have found a second victim of their merciless pranks, as 'Hotlips' and Frank seemed to have found a mutual friendship in the chaos that is 4077th.

This relationship is really only tolerated on Margaret's behalf as no one else is really interested in her, except Hawkeye and Trapper but their disregard for proper military regulations creates a quick and wide wall between them. So Frank is annoying, and whiny, and Margaret can honestly say he is the worst surgeon she has ever observed but then he is still competent enough to not kill patients on his table. And he is the exact opposite of his bunkmates; in a way his attitude towards the war is the only thing Margaret can find in common between them. But it's better then nothing so she will deal with it.

**Well? I hope you have liked it so far. Review if you have time pretty please ~DancingCordeaux~ xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter 2! But first, I just wanted to say thank you so much for the reviews and alerts. They mean a lot and are a huge encouragement. Especially thanks to the two reviews who picked me up for spelling and other errors. I've tried extra hard to proof this chapter and hopefully it is better in terms of that - unfortunately spelling and me do not mix well but I promise I've tried. Please continue to pick up on my mistakes because they will hopefully make my stories better!**

**As always, any ideas, criticism or thoughts are welcome and greatly appreciated. **

**~DancingCordeaux~**

The first time Margaret is paired with Hawkeye in OR things go surprisingly well. She can understand why he is Head Surgeon as he is incredibly delicate in his operations. Having previously been paired with Frank, she has observed Hawkeye and Trappers banter in the OR and considered it totally unprofessional. She couldn't understand how Blake kept them in there with their attention quite obviously on anything but their patients. Now however, Margaret is willing to admit she made a mistake. Within five minutes they have managed to fall into a rhythm so perfect that she hands the equipment as he asks for it. For the first time she finds herself admiring a man other than her father.

Hawkeye himself is surprised. He had been expecting Houlihan to be just as bad as Frank, considering those two had been working together. But Hawkeye and Margaret worked well and he found himself admiring the tough nurse beside him. So he decided to try his luck and gradually his conversation changes from talking with Trapper to flirting with Margaret.

When he hits on her she nearly drops the equipment. A part of her wants to laugh and say yes. But it's only a very small part because the wall is still standing strong. So instead she hands him the scalpel, and tells him to remain professional. "If you can." She adds, a slight attempt at an insult but she is concentrating so it will have to do.

Hawkeye chuckles behind his mask. He regrets his decision now, obviously the direct approach doesn't work too well with the Major and he loses an opportunity. But he did notice the slight hesitation and an odd bubble rises in his stomach. It settling quickly however, as he notices the shrapnel in his patient that now has his undivided attention.

Outside in the scrub room Trapper commends their work. "Well Hotlips, you did well in there with our Chief Surgeon."

Margaret nearly explodes. "HOTLIPS! What… Who… How dare you call me that!"

Hawkeye chuckles as he watches her get more and more agitated, it's quite a sight. Until Frank steps in next to her and tells Trapper off. Trapper makes some smartass comment back but Hawkeye isn't listening because he's too busy glaring at Frank. How come Frank's the one to stand up for Margaret? Hawkeye cannot fathom why this upsets him so much but the look Margaret gives Frank in appreciation makes his blood boil. He needs to get out of there before he hurts someone so he follows after Trapper, smiling happily because, like Margaret, he knows how to wear a mask.

Arguing with Hawkeye has almost become second nature to Margaret and the strange thing is, she almost enjoys it. It's a bit like a game, fun – unless you're the first one to lose face. Hawkeye enjoys getting a reaction out of Margaret so when she has him pinned in a corner and can't think of a comeback tow in the argument he admits defeat. But he still won't give her the satisfaction of winning so instead he apologises, "Sorry baby."

Margaret's too shocked to respond for a minute but she is able to revert back to the rules that have been embedded into her. "That's major to you!"

"Sorry, Major baby." If anyone else had the nerve to call her that she would probably have them court martialled. But there is a nice feeling when he says it – and smiles the smile that makes her weak at the knees – so that by the time he turns she hasn't thought of something clever to say back. Or anything to say back.

It's almost flirting but the truth is it's not. Because by now Margaret knows of Hawkeye's 'relationship' with her nurses and if there was ever a chance between them, it's gone. The extent of their arguing revolves around insulting each other, except there's a sparkle in each of their eyes. Unfortunately, they're not looking hard enough to see it.

On top of the bickering, they have the work in the OR, where they are teamed quite often. He does his best work with her standing next to him; she has this uncanny ability to predict his next move.

And everything is going swimmingly, if not slightly dysfunctional, until he overhears Trapper calling Margaret "Franks' bag". His fists ball by his side and it's the first time Hawkeye has ever consider hitting his friend – he's not a violent person. But he sees Margaret catch his eye, and before he relaxes she smirks slightly, like she knows exactly what his thinking. Which she kind of does, because she saw him approaching and saw him hear what Trapper said and saw his reaction.

Suddenly they're on equal footing because he knows he can make her weak at the knees with a comment and smile. And she now knows that he gets jealous of her relationship – if you can call it that – with Frank. But all too soon their masks are back, only now it's no longer a masquerade mask, more like a football helmet.

Not long after, Frank comes home to the Swamp with a content smile on his face.

Hawkeye and Trapper share a glance because this is the first time this has happened. Hawkeye's suspicious but unfortunately for Hawkeye, Trapper is curious, so it's not long before the whole story is brought to light and its official that Frank and Margaret are lovers.

In OR that day Margaret and Hawkeye are working together and there is a new tension between them. Hawkeye cannot understand how Frank got chosen over him. And Margaret loves the fact that she can get a reaction out of Hawkeye like this. It's not like she could sleep with Hawkeye or Trapper because they've both slept with her nurses and she can't bring herself to have _that_ in common.

So Hawkeye does what he does best to calm down; flirts outrageously with the nurses. He notices that when he does, Margaret slides that little bit closer to Frank, places her hand on his and smiles. But then she makes a mistake. She looks at Hawkeye and they can both see that they are playing each other for a reaction. They fight and bicker, yelling insults at each other, and when it becomes too much Frank won't sleep in the Swamp that night and Hawkeye will volunteer to help the nurses in the Supply Tent the next day. Unfortunately, they are both stubborn and neither is willing to crack first and admit defeat.

A sniper settles in the surrounding hills and Hawkeye, Lt. Marquette, Frank and Margaret are targeted as they try to make it safely back to camp. Hawkeye grabs Marquette and almost throws her in front of Frank, who has taken off at a great speed. Hawkeye turns around expecting Margaret to be right behind him but she's not and it causes his heart to stop. When he finally spots her, she's running frantically towards him. The sniper is still firing and Hawkeye cannot move as he thinks for one terrifying moment that she mightn't reach him.

As she passes him she reaches for his hand and laces her fingers through his. Together they make it to the main building where they are stuck until help can arrive. She goes to thank him for waiting for her but he has stomped off to the other side of the room and refuses to look at her. So she settles down next to Frank.

This upsets Hawkeye even more. Frank left her out there, too concerned about himself. But then he can't even look at her at the moment. He thought he would lose her and he has just discovered that losing Margaret isn't going to sit well with him. Admitting this was easier than he thought it would be but that doesn't mean he knows how to deal with it.

Just because there is a sniper outsides does not mean that they stop operating. Hawkeye barely speaks during surgery and Margaret, working with Frank, doesn't know what to think about that. When they are finally relieved, Hawkeye heads for the Swamp while everyone else goes to the Mess Tent. Margaret chases after him and grabs his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

It's lucky no one else is around because the second Hawkeye faces Margaret he pulls her face towards him and kisses her passionately. It doesn't take long until she wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him back. There was even a moan but neither can remember whose it was. All too soon they're pulling back and staring at each other, breathing heavily.

Frank sticks his head out of the Mess Tent and calls Margaret over. Before she can react, Hawkeyes face darkens and he turns back to the tent. Margaret watches him for a second but eventually she turns and catches up to Frank.

**I will hopefully be updating soon but in the meantime please let me know what you think**

** DancingCordeaux xx**


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